To ensure operator and environmental safety, as well as adherence to legal requirements and best practices, compliance with standards must be part of the product development process. Standards provide a common ground for best practices related to machine safety and functionality because they create a path to achieve uniformity across major markets.

Compliance with regulatory and normative standards means that a machine adheres to current best practices, fulfills legal obligations, and reduces product liability exposure, according to a 2025 study entitled “The Impact of Global and Local Standards on OEMs & Suppliers” from PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies.

If a machine liability issue should arise, and the plaintiff’s lawyers check for declarations and certifications to see if standards were followed, standard compliance provides a defendable position, the study states.

“Lack of compliance can lead to substantial fines, and in the worst cases, significant civil liability and possibly imprisonment,” says Jorge Izquierdo, vice president, market development at PMMI.

Compliance with standards also offers business benefits beyond product liability protection. For example, it can boost return on investment (ROI) by fostering a better understanding of the tasks end users perform on or with a machine, prompt machinery improvements, increase confidence in engineering, lower costs, and reduce schedule- and budget-disrupting surprises during design, engineering, installation, startup, operation, and maintenance.

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